The month of July brings us close to the beginning of another fall camp for Notre Dame football. With practices set to begin soon we are taking a look at each position group ahead of the workouts. We close out our previews with the talented and deep tight end position.
Where We Left Off in Spring
Durham Smythe and his 28 career receptions moved on to the NFL where he was selected by the Miami Dolphins in the 4th round. There were 5 players on the roster for spring but the story line a few months ago was who wasn’t available for practice.
Nic Weishar returned for his 5th season and missed spring dealing with an injury. Early enrolled freshman George Takacs was in the same boat as he recovered from meniscus surgery during the winter and into the spring. Rising sophomore Brock Wright later got in the mix after easing in to workouts following shoulder surgery which kept him out of the Citrus Bowl.
This left Alize Mack and Cole Kmet remaining while the latter missed a handful of workouts due to his appearances with the Notre Dame baseball team.
Number One Camp Story Line
Can the ceiling of this position be raised? Everyone is curious to see if Alize Mack can finally break out. His 32 career receptions is probably more than most Irish fans would guess through 2 seasons of play but his yards per reception fell sharply in 2017 which was depressing in combination with several frustrating drops.
Despite missing practices in the spring with America’s pastime the stock for Cole Kmet really took off in the spring. A combination of Mack hitting his potential with Kmet blossoming on the field at the same time would be as good as it gets for the Irish.
Anticipation Level: 5/10
As usual, there’s no shortage of talent or options at tight end. Weishar will be an interesting one to watch as he’s been steady at times but doesn’t appear to have the ceiling like Kmet or even Wright, both a few years younger. The latter player especially started strong last year as a true freshman yet fell off quickly and never spread his wings beyond a blocking/fullback role. Watching Wright push for starting minutes would certainly liven things up at this position.
I’m curious to see Tommy Tremble, a late under-the-radar addition to the class who isn’t your traditional Notre Dame tight end at 6’3″ and 224 pounds but moved extremely smoothly with the ball in his hands in high school. He could have an extra jolt of athleticism not just to the tight end position but he could be a player who helps out the whole receiving corps as a whole.
We will also get to see year two of Chip Long’s influence during fall camp. Last year, the use of the position increased and receptions followed accordingly from 12 (yikes!) to a more respectable 35 catches–the most since 2013. Anyone care to take the over that the tight ends will catch even more passes in 2018?
I’m surprised you only gave this a 5 – this may be the most interesting position group in the entire team, IMO. Mack and/or Kmet breaking out seems like it may be the difference between a good offense and a not-good offense. Given that the talent here can be elite and given the apparent depth, for me this is as close to 10/10 excitement as this team has (unless we’re counting “hold me I’m terrified” excitement, in which case Wimbush can be a 10/10 by himself).
Kmet and Wright may be the key to Wimbush looking improved, as they’re the only weapons he has that I’m excited about. Mack is firmly in “quit telling me, show me” territory. Weishar will be solid if not spectacular, but we know he can serve when needed. The rest of the freshman and all that, I’m not expecting any value this year from them, unless there are further injuries. I guess we did get 5 TEs playing last year, but I doubt a Takacs or whomever plays more than filler time.
I’d take the action on +35 total TE receptions. Maybe buying in too much to “Year 2 Chip Long getting more comfortable with installing his offense” type buzz, but it would make sense that they run a lot of two TE formations and the talent level is certainly there to make ~3 catches a game.
And, as I’ve said before, I think Cole Kmet is going to be a breakout performer- not expecting peak Eifert numbers or anything but I could see him having an important role and making plays in the mold of 25 catches himself and that would pretty easily get to 35 for a team.
I can’t believe Smythe got drafted but Morgan didn’t.
TEs traditionally have more ST impact than DL. Smythe can play gunner on punts, cover KOs, possibly move to WR or play TE in Mia. Morgan is a big hulking dude and will only be good for one job.
I need a formal definition of E’s “Anticipation Level”. Is it limited to fall camp or does it extend into the season? Is it based on the variability, meaning greater anticipation for a position group that has a low floor and high ceiling? Is it based on position battles in the group, where more battles merit higher anticipation? Is Phil Steele responsible for this in any way?
I think somewhere along the way he said or implied it was specifically for fall camp, *not* the season.
5 is somewhere between “mild” and “mild+”.
Just for camp, sir.
I have no excuse other than my Las Vegas/Gorman bias, but I still hold out hope that this will be the year Alize lives up to his potential.
If he does live up to his potential, I think this will be a pretty good offense.
There are a lot of unknowns on offense this year. But I’m sure every team we play is facing a bunch of unknowns of their own too.